Come On Love, Run With Me
by Kinsey Rachelle
Summary: A lost home. A new friend. A twisted intertwining. The things they never expected her to do. She will prove them all wrong... A Hyuuga Hinata story. *NaruHina
1. Part I

Come On Love, Run With Me

* * *

Part I

My name is Hyuuga Hinata. This is my story: Of terror and blood; fears and fighting; love and war. It is a recount of _The Battle Within_. What I did, I cannot take back. I do not regret it. It was something I had to do, but I wished I didn't have to then and still sometime wish it hadn't come to that. It's something no one ever expected from me. It was all premeditated in my mind. No one else had to know; no one else ever knew until now. There was nothing else I felt I could do at that point. Everything was wrong. I had to fix it. I thought I could change the way things were.

Maybe… Just maybe.

But I also had to make them proud. I had to get to them somehow. I was ready to be noticed, tired of hiding in the shadows.

This was the only way I saw I could do it.

My name is Hyuuga Hinata. This is my story.

* * *

"_Good night, Hanabi," I wished my younger sister as I tucked the blanket in around her small body and kissed her lightly on the forehead, brushing the hair away from her face. I righted myself from the kneeling position I held over my sister and started for the doors, listening as Hanabi rolled around to get comfortable on her bed. When I reached them I slid them apart and slipped my thin body through the gap._

"_Good night, Onee-san," Hanabi mumbled just before I closed the rice doors. Her words were soft and slow from the sleep that was laying heavily over her. She mumbled the words, her face pressed into her pillow as she was now lying on her stomach. I took a long look back at her sleeping silhouette as she fell asleep before closing the doors._

_I slid them shut and held onto the frame, grasping it and lightly touching my head to the joint where the two slides met, closing my light lavender eyes and holding back tears.__"I won't break down… not here, not yet,"__ I thought to myself. Pulling away from the door, I loosened my grip on the frame, letting my hands fall limply to my sides, and made the familiar trek to my bedroom down the hall._

_When the doors to my room were closed tightly, I stepped lightly over toward my wardrobe in the corner of the room. I opened the old wooden doors and knelt down in front of it, reaching in and lifting up the bottom of it, revealing the false bottom and its contents. The thin panel creaked as I lifted it up and it bowed as the front came up and the back stuck firmly in place, wedged tightly between the sturdy sides of the cupboard. When the contents, what looked like a small pouch, had been extracted from the bottom, I slid the plank back into place. Even as careful as I was, the operation was still making more noise than I would have liked, the plank creaking and scraping against the sides of the cabinet. But, I figured, Father and Neji-niisan were asleep enough by then that they wouldn't hear me._

_I took the strap on the small bag and came up off the floor. Still staying low I made my way over to the small desk Father had bought me several years earlier that resided in the opposite corner of my room and fell back to my knees__. "The pampered first daughter from the main branch of the honorable Hyuuga clan," __Neji-niisan's words ran through my head as my fingers traced the familiar pattern of slight relief created by the painting that had been delicately applied so many years ago today. __"Happy Birthday, Daughter,"__ my father had said in his non-emotional, unattached voice. __"I had this hand crafted for you in the Sand village and it was painted by the most famous artist in all of the five great villages," __he had said before explaining that it would be taken to my room for me and leaving. I had thought it the most grandiose gift I had ever received at that moment and thanked him many times over. As the years progressed its value never faltered. It was the only genuine gift I had ever gotten from my father since Hanabi had become his prized daughter. __"Well," __I thought with a smirk, __"I won't be known as the pampered Hyuuga girl any more."_

_I reached into my small backpack I had prepared for the trip and dug up the scroll, ink, and pen that had fallen to the bottom of the pile since I had packed it. As I brought them out and undid the scroll to unroll it on the desk in front of me I noticed my hands were shaking slightly. I was suddenly aware of the hot tears that were beating at the back of my eyelids, begging to be freed. I struggled to get the ink cap off but refused to cry__. "I will be strong. This is my choice. No one is telling me what to do now."__ I touched the pen to the parchment and began to write, my handwriting scratchy from my shaking hands. When I neared the end, I saw a small wet spot appear on the paper, making the ink run a little. I reached up and touched my eyes, both of them watering, blurring my vision. I signed my name and added my afterthought in the form of a PS quickly, then rolled the scroll back up, leaving it on my desk with the capped ink and pen lying next to it. _

_I threw the thin, worn straps of my bag over my shoulders and made my way to the door, easily keeping quiet without my shoes on. I opened the rice doors to my room almost silently, just enough for me to slip through, then closed them again, being sure to get them completely shut without making any noise. When they were closed I turned my back and walked inaudibly down the hall, making my way to the front of the house. At the front entrance I slipped on my shoes and left without looking back at my home._

_I continued all the way through Konoha, trying hard not to chicken out. I had to do this. If not now, then I never would. I kept moving, averting my eyes from anything that might change my mind; the academy building, the training grounds, the ramen stand, his apartment building… There I definatly had to resist stopping and staring, just to look at his window, knowing he was there inside. As I passed the tears started falling. This time I didn't try and stop them from coming and they fell to my feet. I could see the small dark spots they made in the dirt as I walked with my head down._

_When I reached the front gate to the village I lifted my head. Two more steps forward and I would be considered a rogue ninja. I turned to face my home… Everything I was leaving behind. I thought of my friends, my teammates, my comrades, my family, my love. I cringed at the latter, redirecting my eyes to the horizon where the Hokage's mansion sat against a background of the mountain with the faces of previous Konoha rulers' faces. They were carved into its rocky face, the moonlight trickling over all the crevices in the stone and dancing over their faces._

_I turned to face the darkened forest that lay before me. I had left the village on countless occasions; missions, vacations, etc. But this time it was different. There were higher stakes this time… And I didn't have a team to back me up. There was no one but me to look after now, and no one would have to look after me anymore. __"Happy seventeenth birthday, Hinata-san,"__I told myself. As I leapt forward, the faces of my home's heroes seemed to watch as I disappeared, engulfed by the darkness of the midnight forest._

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**- Naruto and its characters belongs to Kishimoto Masashi.  
- The title of this story is based on a line from the song "Beauty in the Breakdown" by The Scene Aesthetic.**

Alright, this is my story... For the beginning I thought I would explain Hinata's feelings on the night she ran away. The little segment at the very begininng is Hinata speaking in the present. Everything in the story, however, is in the past.

**_Something to keep in mind..._**

Every chapter of this story is either

1 What is happening to Hinata, always written in first person  
OR  
2 What is going on with her teamates

That's about it.. Reviews are greatly appreciated.  
--Kinsey


	2. Part II

Part II

Hyuuga Neji sat straight up in bed as soon as the light from the early morning sun reached his closed eyelids. He had always gotten up at the first signs of dawn, no alarm required. He had trained himself to get up at the same time a long time ago. Neji stretched his arms above his head and looked up towards them, closing his eyes and yawning, his long, dark hair against his back. He brought his hands back down to his sides and slid off the bed. He slid out of his pajamas and pulled on his usual outfit, tying his hair into its small band near his shoulder blades. He sauntered out of his room and down the hall to the dining room.

As soon as he set foot in the small room he realized something was wrong. There was no noise coming from the kitchen, there were no plates or cups out on the table. He had become so accustomed to Hinata being up first and having breakfast out by the time the rest of them were awake that he had come to expect it, take it for granted. He walked into the kitchen and lightly pressed on the door on the off chance she was just being her quiet self. But, as was expected, Hinata wasn't there and an empty room met his eyes.

Slightly confused, he made his way back down the hall to where the bedrooms were. He passed Hanabi's room where he heard her stumbling around, trying to get dressed while she was still half asleep. When he reached Hinata's doorway he listened at the door. He couldn't hear anything from inside, not even the sound of her breathing. Thinking she might still be asleep he whispered, "Byakugan," under his breath, activating his eyes so he could see if she were in her room without waking her if she did happen to still be asleep.

Looking in the room he saw that she was nowhere to be found. He deactivated his Byakugan and slid the doors to her room open. He looked all around the room, trying to find a note or something to let him know that maybe she was just out for a walk. _"But it's not like Hinata-san to just leave like this,"_he thought to himself when he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. As his almost-white eyes swept the room again he spotted a scroll on her ornate desk in the corner of the room. He walked over and unrolled it, skimming over the page quickly.

Reading the letter he tried to stay calm. She had become like his sister more than his cousin in the past few years and he almost didn't believe that what he was reading was real. He had gone from despising her simply because she was part of the main branch of their family to holding her with great respect for her work ethic, considering the fact that she had become significantly stronger since his fight with her during the preliminaries of the Chunnin exams. Also, being one of the only members of their honorable clan who actually saw her for what she was worth instead of telling her she was a burden as her father often did, he felt protective of her; as if she were his charge who needed constant looking after, even if she didn't. He felt she could be too nice sometimes, too sweet for her own good, and he was afraid that one day it would get her into trouble.

But nothing had prepared him for this.

Neji rolled the scroll back up and took it with him, clenching it a little too tight while thinking about the trouble she had gotten herself into, and carried it out of her room. _"Hinata-san… Of all of the things you could have done… I knew you would be reckless eventually, but this? Why?"_He had so many questions for her but he feared that none of them would ever be answered if action were not taken as soon as possible. He strode off to find Hiashi-sama, hoping he would know what to do, and, for the first time since he could remember, feeling defenseless, as if everything were out of his control. And he didn't like the way that felt.

Lady Tsunade's little round office in the Hokage Mansion was full of people. They were all noticeably different, but it seemed natural for all of them to be there together. Lady Tsunade sat at her desk, her elbows resting on the top and her fingertips touching in front of her face. Off behind her desk was Shizune, her short black hair a little ruffled, her black eyes glinting with stress, and overall looking worried and flustered and holding TonTon in her arms. Next to her stood Haruno Sakura, Tsunade's student and almost expert medical ninja. Her pink hair concealed her down-turned face. She had already been informed on the situation and didn't trust herself to meet the eyes of her friends, knowing the look on her face, in her eyes, would give her away in an instant.

Against one of the room's sidewalls Hyuuga Neji and Hiashi rested with their arms hanging down at their sides. Hanabi sat in front of them, her arms wrapped around her legs and her knees pulled up to her chest. In front of the desk stood three boys, about seventeen years of age, and a woman who was probably in her late twenties by the looks of her.

Two of the three boys standing in front her desk, the one in the black and orange jumpsuit with spiky blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, and the one wearing a fuzzy hooded sweatshirt with dark brown eyes to match his hair and red triangles on his face, bounced anxiously on their heels, looking nervously around the room. Simply the almost nervous look on Neji's face put them on edge considering the fact that the boy usually never let his emotions show through anything. They wondered what could be so bad that even Neji was worried.

The other boy stood still, his eyes hidden by his black-tinted glasses and his face half covered by the collar of his jacket and his hood, along with Yuuhi Kurenai, their sensei, who was trying to maintain her composure. This was difficult seeing as she had been called here urgently, and, considering the people who had been called to the office with her, something had to have happened to her only female student, Hinata. Kurenai had raised her like a daughter and the thought of anything having happened to her was almost unbearable, but she managed to maintain a calm and collected façade.

For a long time the only noise in the room was the tick of the clock on the wall, the soft sound of feet padding by outside the door, and TonTon's occasional soft squeals. Someone had to break the silence eventually, and Tsunade knew exactly whom it would be.

"Granny Tsunade, what are we all here for?" Naruto, the blonde, practically yelled when he couldn't handle the building tension in the room any more.

Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes. _"Just as I figured. He just can't stay silent for long, can he? And as disrespectful as ever… But I guess I didn't really have my hopes up that they would all just wait for me to start this discussion,"_she thought to herself.

Another voice spoke up. "And if we are all here, even Hiashi-sama, Neji-kun, and Hanabi-san, where's Hinata-san?" Kiba, the one with the triangles on his face, questioned the room at large. He noticed Hanabi involuntarily wince when she heard her sister's name and wondered why. He knew that none of their family particularly valued Hinata as a clan member, but to actually make a gesture as if you were offended by it? That was almost too much for Kiba's patience, but he managed to stay under control.

Tsunade sighed heavily and closed her eyes again for a moment before opening them to look at the others in the room. "I have called you all here," she started calmly, "because Neji-kun found something today; something important that effects you all..." She paused, watching the reactions on their faces. They all just looked curious at the moment. The real reactions would come in a moment. "Hinata has run away from Konoha without warming. We don't know where exactly she went, and all she left was this note." In one swift motion the small scroll that was sitting in her desk was in her hands. She held it out for someone to take, watching the looks on all of their faces.

Kiba was the one to jump forward and take the scroll, unrolling it and reading it quickly. Once he was done reading, he passed it to Shino, who handed it to Kurenai, who set it back on Lady Tsunade's desk. Naruto made a grab for it and had it unrolled before anyone in the room could have said, "Sake." He read over it, his eyebrows furrowing together a little more with every word he read. When he was done he looked up from the scroll, looked around deliberately to each of his comrades, then looked at Tsunade and handed her back the scroll without saying a word, a solemn expression on his face.

The Hokage looked around the room at each of the people who had read the letter and Hinata's family. Everyone looked a little hurt and almost flabbergasted. Hanabi was crying silently from her spot on the floor and even Neji looked perturbed. Only Hiashi, the girl's own father, looked impassive towards the current situation. Tsunade cleared her throat to speak again. "I assume everyone knows why the people I have called here are here?" she looked around the room and received several reassuring nods. Only Naruto still looked perplexed.

"We need to find her as soon as possible, despite what the letter has instructed," she commanded, now using her authoritative voice. She wanted to be gentle considering the situation, but she was in charge here, after all. "You will be expected to set out this afternoon. Kurenai, you will lead one squad," she said to the woman with the long black hair who nodded in reply, "and Hiashi-sama, if you wish…" The blonde let her sentence trail off, looking at the man quizzically.

"I wish to stay in the village, Hokage-sama," he declared, confirming her thoughts.

"_He doesn't even want to go after his own daughter…"_ Tsunade thought with sudden and immense distaste for the man. "Very well, then," she continued, trying to bluff her dislike for the Hyuuga clan leader. Bluffing wasn't her strong side (as anyone could see from her debt records that were stashed in a drawer in her desk), but she believed she had pulled this one off, directing her attention elsewhere. "Neji, you will lead the other team," she instructed. Neji nodded to her, showing he accepted his position. "As far as who is on who's team, I will leave that up for you to decide. I will expect you all to be packed and ready by one o'clock sharp this afternoon. I will be waiting for you by the main gates to see you off and approve your stations."

She looked around the room looking to see that they understood the conditions. Once they did, she continued. "I have one final thing to tell you before you leave. This is very critical, so pay attention," she ordered. If the room had been tense before, it was nothing compared to the anxiety that was emanating from each and every person now. "The true meaning for this mission is to be kept secret. No one but the people in this room is to know what has happened. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded in agreement. "Good. You are dismissed, now," she finished with a slight flick of her hand, motioning for them to leave

"Naruto," she called as she saw he was about to leave the room, "you stay for a minute." He did as he was told without complaint, which was fairly rare for the hyperactive ninja. But, considering all that he had just learned, he wasn't really in the mood to disobey, anyway.

Once all of the others, even Shizune with TonTon in her arms and Sakura, had filed out of the room and the door was shut again, the blonde stood in front of Tsunade's desk and looked into her eyes, waiting for her to speak. "Naruto," she began softly, "You did read the entire letter, correct?" she questioned him, watching his eyes and his facial expressions. All he did was nod yes and keep eye contact. "Even the PS?" Again he nodded. "Then, even though I hate to spoil her years of secrecy, I would like to point out to you that she meant you, Naruto."

It seemed to take a minute for the thought to register with the boy. But, once it did, it was if a plane had crashed into him. He stumbled back a little and looked at her with wide, worried eyes. "M-m-me?" he questioned her, pointing to himself with one finger at his chest. She nodded and he stared for a minute before turning for the door. When his hand touched the doorknob, he turned to face the blonde Hokage before exiting. "I'll be ready to leave… We'll find her," he said simply, his voice fighting for control of the wavering that wanted so badly to escape his lips, before leaving the room. He shut the door quietly behind him, still in a state of complete and utter shock.

"_I sure hope you do, Naruto,"_ she thought as she watched his back disappear behind the door. _"I sure hope you do."_

**- Naruto and its characters belongs to Kishimoto Masashi.  
- The title of this story is based on a line from the song "Beauty in the Breakdown" by The Scene Aesthetic.**

Alright. Part II of the current IX parts I have written. YAY! The whole thing of what I have so far is 45 pages long... Anyway, please let me know what you think. K, thanks. Reviews are very much appreciated.

-Kinsey


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